Toll in Swine Flu Rises to 72 with Three More Fatalities

With three more succumbing to swine flu, one toddler and two middle-aged persons in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, the pandemic doll has risen to 72. In the meanwhile, schools and colleges in Pune, shut due to the surge in infection, reopened on Monday after nearly two weeks.

Union Health Ministry officials said that over 100 more case of the flu infection were reported from various states on Sunday.

According to health official, after testing positive for the virus, a two-and-a-half year-old child, who was suffering from a liver disorder and was admitted to the Command Hospital in worst hit Pune on August 21, passed away last night.

With the toddler’s death, the toll in Pune has risen to 23 and in Maharashtra to 39.

In Bangalore, a 50-year-old woman, Sarojamma, who was admitted to Thirumala Hospital on August 15 and medicated with Tamiflu treatment died on Sunday night, hospital sources said.

52-year-old Rajesh Udhad, who was admitted to Wockhardt Hospital in Rajkot on August 20 after he showed flu symptoms like fever, breathlessness and vomitting, died this morning, raising the virus toll in Gujarat to seven.

The toll has gone to 72 with these three fatatlities. This includes Karnataka with 13, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh with three each, Delhi two and Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana one each.

Meanwhile, schools and colleges in Pune reopened on Monday after almost two weeks of closure effected by the authorities to prevent spread of the flu virus.